I'm Already the Richest Man, Why Did My System Just Arrive?

Chapter 201: Chapter 142: Live Human Fire Sacrifice

SLAP!

Two more fat mosquitoes landed on his bald head.

Ruchen could only keep slapping himself to drive the mosquitoes away.

By the time they were halfway through the dense forest, Ruchen’s head, neck, and any other exposed skin were covered in welts of all sizes from mosquito bites.

Zheng Xiu, on the other hand, was having a peaceful journey, as the mosquitoes had no appetite for him.

"Why do the mosquitoes treat you like you’re not even there?"

Ruchen grumbled, unconvinced.

"Heh. You can’t generalize about people’s constitutions. Maybe your flesh and blood just smells tastier. Many years ago, I read a story about a monk with delicate skin named Tang Xuanzang. Legend has it that if demons or evil creatures ate his flesh, they would gain immortality and eternal youth..."

Finally, after much difficulty, they emerged from the dense forest, and the view opened up before them.

Villages and towns dotted the vast plains like stars, lush and dense forests grew between the distant mountains, and even farther away were precipitous, snow-capped peaks.

A cold wind brushed his face. Ruchen scratched the welts on his head while listening to the "well-traveled" Brother Zheng’s story about "monk meat." Finally free, he flicked the reins, hurrying his horse out of the mosquitoes’ hunting grounds. Only then did he turn back and ask, "Brother Zheng, we’ve been in Zhaozhou territory for a while now. Where exactly are you planning to go?"

Zheng Xiu took a map out from his robes.

A few days earlier, while crossing a mountain, they had happened upon a sturdy huntress who had gone into the mountains to hunt, only to become the hunted herself, forced up a tree by a Fierce Tiger. After Zheng Xiu drove the tiger away and rescued her, the huntress had enthusiastically insisted on inviting her two saviors back to her home for a hearty meal to repay their kindness. Her words even vaguely hinted that since she could not otherwise repay such a great debt, she might as well offer herself in marriage.

The Mighty Man flatly refused. "That’s quite unnecessary."

The disappointed huntress, upon learning the Mighty Man and the Monk wanted to head south, gave them a map showing the main roads, mountains, rivers, towns, and villages of the four southern prefectures. In the end, the sturdy huntress tearfully and reluctantly watched the Mighty Man leave, hoping he would keep the map so he could look at it and think of her.

When Zheng Xiu took out the map, Ruchen’s serious expression suddenly changed. His features took on a fierce and harsh quality, yet he poked Zheng Xiu in the chest and teased, "Heh heh! That poor girl’s devotion was met with a heart of stone. I really don’t get it. The ancients said to enjoy a fleeting romance when you find one. But you have to pretend to be all prim and proper, even spitting out the meat that’s delivered right to your mouth."

As Zheng Xiu got to know Ruchen better, he could even begin to distinguish between some of his alternate personalities.

He had given nicknames to the few "Heart Demons" he’d come to recognize, mainly to make it easier to tell them apart.

"Thug," "Brat," "Scholar," "Courtesan," and so on.

The one who had surfaced inside Ruchen now was "Thug."

Among Ruchen’s "Heart Demons," this was the one with the most ferocious personality, a foul mouth, and the most punchable face.

"Itching for a beating?"

Zheng Xiu raised a fist the size of a clay pot and squeezed, the veins on it bulging.

Ruchen instantly returned to normal, looking at the map in Zheng Xiu’s hand with a perfectly ordinary expression.

Zheng Xiu paid no mind to Ruchen’s embarrassing "Heart Demon" episode and pointed to a mountain in the southwest of Zhaozhou, which had a note written under it.

Ruchen exclaimed in shock, "The number one peak under Heaven, Celestial Yin Mountain? Legend says the snow there never melts, all year round. It’s hard to ascend, but harder still to descend. The terrain is treacherous, and even the most outstanding Skillful Hands and Craftsmen have been unable to build a climbing path on it! If an avalanche happens, it’s certain death. Why would you think of going there?"

Zheng Xiu smiled. "The fact that it’s rarely visited by people is exactly what I want. Ye Weiyang appears where strange cases occur, and the Ravens build their nests and gather in bustling cities. I’m not saying we have to climb to the summit—we just need to find a deserted nook nearby and hide for ten days to half a month. Even if the Ravens sense our presence, it would be hard for them to get there in a short time. It takes time for the Ravens to gather. One or two alone can’t attract the Crow Fosterer, or he would have shown up long ago."

This was a conclusion Zheng Xiu had reached after finishing off Kui Lang.

"So that’s how it is! Brother Zheng, you really are meticulous! You can’t judge a book by its cover!"

Their destination was clear. Zheng Xiu and Ruchen rode on horseback, skirting around towns and main roads. After a few more days, with Zheng Xiu constantly on guard for any sign of Ravens, they finally reached the southwest of Zhaozhou. The snow-capped mountain, soaring into the clouds, was now right before their eyes.

After losing his memory, Ruchen’s world had been almost entirely confined to the General Town area. This long journey with Zheng Xiu, despite being a desperate flight to the ends of the earth, had opened his eyes to local customs and snacks he had never even heard of. He found it all incredibly exciting.

Celestial Yin Mountain was Daqian’s natural barrier, a wall that no one could cross. This was another reason Zheng Xiu had chosen to head south: Zhaozhou was vast and bordered other countries, yet no Divine Martial Army was stationed there.

As they neared Celestial Yin Mountain, the terrain rose layer by layer. Zheng Xiu found on the map that the closest town to the mountain was called "Jingtang Town." He planned to stock up on clothes and dry rations there.

"We’ve saved up a good bit of travel money from righting wrongs along the way, so we should have enough." Before entering the town, Zheng Xiu gave Ruchen a stern warning, "Remember, we have to be low-key. Low-key, low-key, low-key. We absolutely cannot attract any attention!"

"Brother Zheng, Brother Zheng, Brother Zheng!"

Ruchen looked up toward the town in astonishment, tugging on Zheng Xiu’s sleeve. In his haste, he accidentally tore the entire sleeve off and exclaimed, "Quick, look! It looks like there’s a fire over there!"

Zheng Xiu followed Ruchen’s gaze and saw a pillar of thick black smoke rising from within the town. They hadn’t seen it when they were looking from a distance before, so the fire must have started just a short while ago.

"Hee hee hee hee..." A pure, innocent, childlike laugh suddenly came from Ruchen’s mouth. He bent over and crouched on the ground. With a clap of his hands, a handful of yellow mud strangely squirmed and reshaped itself into a palm-sized little mud man. The mud man began to dance and wave its limbs in a bizarre manner.